Haroon Mirza, Sugar Face, 2017

2017

Medium

Refined sugar electroetching on copper PCB blank

Dimensions

51 × 40.5 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-156287

"Sugar Face" (2017) is part of the "Electro Etchings" series, in which Haroon Mirza places organic elements such as psychoactive plants and mushrooms, or in this case, refined sugar, on copper circuit boards and conducts electrical currents through them. In this process, sugar and metal combine, allowing the crystalline outlines to inscribe themselves into the material. The consumption of sugar activates the reward center in the brain, leading to the release of dopamine. In this way, sugar shares some characteristics with classical drugs and has an impact on human perception, which the artist engages with. Electricity is a recurring medium in Mirza's artistic practice, expressing his longstanding exploration of energy (waves) in both physical and spiritual contexts: “Waves have been a preoccupation of mine since the beginning of my practice. There’s a thread that’s very clear, though I didn’t realize it at the time. From ocean waves to soundwaves, from electromagnetic waves to brain waves, I’m very attracted to chaotic systems – waves, electricity, energy – that are present in nature, and how our perceptual apparatus engages with them." Created by placing organic material on copper boards and passing a current through them, Haroon Mirza’s electro-etchings fuse together the technoid-digital world and the natural, shamanistic-magical world by using organic material. "I've always been interested in organic matter, material, and organisms because of their chaotic, unpredictable and autonomous nature, and also as a metaphor for other things", the artist stated in an interview. The usage of PCB copper plates (which are normally used in computers) and drugs in shamanistic rituals is also found in other works of his internationally recognized installations, sculptures and video pieces.